Refrigerator



Sept. 5, 1939. LIEBERMAN 2,172,284 I REFRIGERATOR Filed Feb. 26-, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 5, 1939. A. LIEBERMAN REFRIGERATOR 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1938 Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerators and has for its primary object to provide an improved manner of mounting the cooling unit so as to obtain the maximum space within the interior of the compartment and the greatest emcient uniform temperature capable of being produced by said cooling unit.

Another object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet having a cooling unit mounted in a recess formed in the rear wall of the cabinet, with means for withdrawing the air from the interior of the cabinet, passing it through the recess and over cooling unit and expelling same to the interior of the cabinet.

16 Another object is to provide an improved manner of directing the circulatingflow of the air within a refrigerator.

Another object is to provide animproved manner of housing a cooling unit within a cabinet 2 and controlling the circulation therewithin so that the cooling of the air is intensified and increased thereby permitting the use of smaller cooling units than possible on prior art constructions.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of my refrigerator takenon lines i-l of Figure 3.

"Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 2--2 of Fig. l and Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The refrigerator has a cabinet generally indicated at it, which is formed of a base ii, sides l2 and I3, back 53, front II and top it. On the bottom of the cabinet, I provide a slatted floor II. A plurality of transparent glass panels i2a spaced from each other are positioned in the side i2,

while similarly spaced transparent glass panels l3a are positioned in the other side wall I3.

Forming the front section ii of the cabinet are a pair of hinged doors i8 and i9 separated by an intervening section 20. The doors and intervening sections are each provided with a plurality of transparent glass panels Ilia, Na and 2011 respectively, similarly to those of the sides. The top of the cabinet likewise has similarly mounted spaced glass panels I611.

2| are overhangingly positioned to illuminate the interior v22 of the cabinet.

Referring particularly to the rear wall ll, 1 form said wall of two outer end sections 23 and 24 and an intervening section 25, with the transverse cross-sectional area of the intervening sec- Illuminating means tion 23 less than that of the outer sections 23 and 24. This forms a recess 26 for mounting of the cooling unit 21 therein. The'cooling unit is of the expansion type (any other type of cooling unit can be used) and is mounted so that it 3 is positioned within said recess with the outer face or front 2| a of the unit within the plane of the front of the outer sections 23 and 24. The cooling element is provided with the usual expansion bulb 21b. Conduits (not shown) leading to 10 and from a suitable compressor and condenser unit are connected to. the cooling unit.

The recess 28 extends substantially the height of the cabinet. Adjacent the top of the cabinet and within the recess 26. I mount a pair of electrill cally operated suction fans 23 and 23 which are connected to a source of electrical supply. Also mounted within said recess. adjacent the lower end of the cooling unit are two bailie plates 30 and 3| which are mounted so thatthey diverge outwardly with the lower ends thereof 30a and 3la terminating adjacent the level of the slatted floor. These plates provide within the main recess 26 flaring passage 32 for directing the flow of the cool air from the cooling unit.

Adjacent the front of the entire rearwall, I

- position a panel or wall generally indicated at 33 which is made up of 3 opaque glass sections 34, 35 and 36 mounted within a framework 31. The central glass section 35 is positioned to the front 30 of the cooling unit 21 and hides same from outside view. In addition said glass section provides with the recess 23, a vertically extending chamber 38 sealed along the vertical walls thereof from. the rest of the rear walls, so that the 35 air drawn into the chamber 33 is cooled therein, and passed therefrom along a defined path. In the central section 35, I provide a. cutout 39 in which is positioned a grill 40, directly to the front of the fans. This grill provides the inlet 0 connection to the chamber 33. I

The circulation of the air within the cabinet is as follows. With the suction fans 28 and 25 and cooling unit 21 in operation, the air in the cabinet 22, will be drawn upwardly as shown by 45 the arrows in Figure 2 and will be drawn in through the grill 40 into the vertical chamber 38 of the rear wall and downwardly over and around the cooling unit 21 to be cooled thereby then continued downwardly through the flaring pas- 5 sage 32 defined by the baiiie plates 30 and 3| and outwardly of said chamber into the main section of the cabinet 22.

Due to my particular arrangement of providing a recessed chamber within the rear wall, I u

t sidewalls ofsaid recess section form in effect baiiie plates for directing the fiow of the downwardly and furthermoreiby so positionair ing said cooling unit within the recess chamber, the

from the entire cabinet is-drawn towards accordance with the teachings of the prior art.

Furthermore, positioning of the unit in this manner conserves space within the cabinet by virtue of the fact that the back section will within is confines support the refrigeratingelement, all of which is decidedly important considering the fact that maximum space within the cabinet is I over said recess to form a duct therewith, re-

. 178,884 place the refrigerating or cooling wit, u

frigerating coils disposed in said duct and confined within the surface planes of said wall, circulating means for directing air through said duct whereby; the air will pass downwardly over said refrigerating coils and will be distributed uniformly throughout said refrigerating chamber.

2. In a refrigerating chamber of the class described, a rear wall having a vertically extending duct centrally positioned therein, refrigerating coils disposed in said duct and confined within the surface planes of said wall. means for circulating air through said duct and over said refrigerating coils, the flow of air over said coils being thereby concentrated and a rapid cooling thereof efiected, a flaring passageway formed at the bottom of said duct and adapted to distribute the cooled air uniformly throughout said refrigerating chamber.

3. In a refrigerating chamber of the class described, a wall having a vertically extending recess forming a compartment therein, refrigerating means mounted in said compartment and confined within the surface planes of said wall, means for circulating air through said compart- Jment whereby an intensified cooling of said air is eflected, baiile plates arranged to form a flaring passageway in said compartment and adapted for uniformly distributing the cooled air to allparts of said refrigerating chamber.

m LIEBERMAN. 

